PRECIOUS
by The Chosen One
Summary: This is a story about Gollum's life between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings"
1. The Discovery

1 PRECIOUS  
  
1.1 CHAPTER 1 - THE DISCOVERY  
  
(DISCLAIMER: This story has nothing to do with the mythology of Tolkien's work. It is just a story created, by me, using one of Tolkien's characters. As if you thought otherwise. Also, I have yet to finish reading The Lord Of The Rings, so there may be some inaccuracies, please don't tear me apart for them.)  
  
Gollum wept in his small boat, sitting in the middle of the lake deep in the Misty Mountains. It had been nearly a year since Bilbo Baggins had escaped from the Misty Mountains, escaped from Gollum, but it seemed like an eternity to the wretched creature, yet he remembered it like it had only happened yesterday.  
  
"We're all alone, my preciousssss," sobbed Gollum to himself, "My birthday present has been stolen! Curse the nasty little Baggins! WE HATE THE BAGGINS!!!!!!!!"  
  
Just then he heard a distant sound, muffled, but most definitely not another trick being played on him by his imagination. Then again, previous voices had seemed so real to him. He constantly heard his ring calling to him, telling him that it had returned, that it was waiting for him across the lake. Every time, he had foolishly left his isolated island on his boat, travelled across the icy, murky waters and scrambled across the ground, only to discover to his dismay that his precious birthday present was not there. Just then, he heard the sound again, and decided to venture out into the tunnels to find out where it was coming from.  
  
As he slinked through the dark passages, his bulbous eyes glowing dimly in the dark, following the noise as it gradually got closer. He eventually located the noise, finding himself standing right behind it, actually. It was a goblin, one of the few who had survived The Battle Of The Five Armies, was shambling through the tunnel, holding a small package in his hands. Gollum's hands were soon around the goblin's throat, and, rather than choking the creature to death, like he usually did, Gollum merely made a sharp twist with his bony hands, breaking the goblin's neck. Gollum let his victim collapse backwards, and, just then, he heard the noise again.  
  
Gollum looked down, it was coming from the package. Rather than dragging the dead goblin back to his cave to devour, Gollum instead ran back to his home with the package. He placed it down on the boat, and then jumped in himself. As he took the boat back to his little island at the end of the lake, he listened curiously to the sound coming from the small package. It was actually quite unsettling for Gollum. When he reached his island, he decided to investigate this new discovery.  
  
He unravelled some of the passage, and found, to his shock, a human baby underneath.  
  
Gollum did not know how it had got to where it was. What had happened was as follows. A man, new to that area, had camped in the very same opening that Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves had camped at when they had been captured by the goblins. His wife and his newborn child had accompanied him. The lone goblin had slain the man and his wife as they slept, and took the child deep into the mountain to torment further. However, the goblin was not too bright, and had got lost in the passage of tunnels. The baby was woken by the goblin's angered utterances, and this was when Gollum had heard it crying.  
  
When the baby first saw the large, green eyes of Gollum staring down at her in the dark, her crying seized. Gollum was surprised at this reaction. The crying of the infant sounded fairer than those of the goblins, which came when Gollum had caught them unawares, aided by his ring, which gave him invisibility, and slowly strangled them to death. However, the child's wails had saddened Gollum, and he was relieved that she had stopped.  
  
If Gollum was surprised by this first reaction, he was downright astonished by the reaction that followed. The baby reached out her tiny little hands, and clasped them around Gollum's slimy wrist, and smiled, giving a naïve little chuckle to her new discovery.  
  
"What shall we call it?" asked Gollum.  
  
Gollum looked down at the round face, partially covered by some thin wisps of golden blonde hair. He studied the round, trusting eyes, the pudgy little nose and the grinning mouth, truly cherubic features, and made his decision.  
  
"We shall call it Preciousssssss." 


	2. Bringing Up Baby

1 PRECIOUS  
  
1.1 CHAPTER 2 - BRINGING UP BABY  
  
As Gollum looked in shock at the giggling infant, which he had now called Precious, a smile crept across his face. He had not smiled since the day he lost his birthday present.  
  
"It is my Preciousssss, it is," exclaimed Gollum with glee, picking her up. The baby let out little squeals of excitement as Gollum spun her around, hopping back and forth on his little island on the lake.  
  
Gollum stopped dead in his tracks, and twitched his nose.  
  
"What is that smell, my preciousssssssss?" asked Gollum.  
  
He brought Precious closer to him and took another sniff.  
  
"Could it be coming from Precioussssss?" asked Gollum.  
  
He turned the baby round, cautiously pulling down the child's garments.  
  
"Preciousssss has made a mess, my preciousssss," sighed Gollum.  
  
Panicking for a brief moment, Gollum realised he was surrounded by water, and got an idea. Gollum took the clothes off of Precious, laying her down carefully on the material he had found her wrapped in, and dipped the clothes in the icy cold water. Gollum grabbed a smooth stone and rubbed all the excrement from Precious's clothes as he cleaned them in the lake.  
  
Gollum dried the clothes with the material he had laid Precious in. He therefore had to hold Precious under his arm while he did this. When the clothes were ready, he put them back on Precious.  
  
"Look at my Preciousss now," announced Gollum proudly, "It is all clean!"  
  
Gollum wondered what to do with his new companion now. He tried to ask her a riddle, but the baby did not answer. In fact, Gollum was starting to wonder if Precious talked at all.  
  
After a while, the baby started to cry again. Gollum quickly checked under her garments again, but she was still clean.  
  
"What does it want now, my precioussss?" asked a confused Gollum.  
  
Suddenly, a sharp pang of hunger hit the chest of Gollum. He realised that he had not eaten all day: he needed some fish. Then he realised why Precious was upset.  
  
"My Preciousssss must be hungry too, my precioussss," hissed Gollum, "Does it want some fishes?"  
  
So Gollum took Precious into the boat with him. Gollum soon caught a fish and, although he was ravenously hungry, he fed a small amount to Precious. Her crying soon stopped.  
  
"We were right, my precioussss," laughed Gollum, "Preciousss only needed some fish in its belly!"  
  
After finishing his fish, and drinking some of the lake water with Precious, Gollum returned to his island. Gollum was now feeling quite tired, so he turned round, and prepared for another sleep filled with haunted dreams of his ring. However, Gollum could not get to sleep because of the baby's chuckles.  
  
Gollum turned round, wondering how he could get the baby to sleep. He considered hitting it on the back of the head, which could knock it out, but decided against it. Gollum cast his mind back, long into the past when he was a child, when his grandmother used to sing him to sleep. Gollum decided to give it a try:  
  
"Far, far away, high up in the sky,  
  
Lived a.bird, which liked.erm.pie,  
  
One day, this bird met a duck,  
  
Who said go away, and get to."  
  
He didn't need to go any further. The baby had somehow found Gollum's dreadful singing voice soothing, and had fallen asleep.  
  
Gollum smiled, very proud of himself, and settled down to welcome sleep himself. 


	3. Decisions

1 PRECIOUS  
  
1.1 CHAPTER 3 - DECISIONS  
  
As Gollum lay asleep, with Precious nearby, he started to hear voices in his dreams.  
  
"Gollum," said the voice.  
  
"Where is that voice coming from, my precioussss," murmured Gollum.  
  
"It is I, your birthday present, your real precious," replied the voice.  
  
"Why did it leave us," sobbed Gollum.  
  
"That is not important," snapped the voice, "You no longer care for me."  
  
"What does it mean?" asked Gollum, "We still love it."  
  
"You have replaced me with that horrible child!" roared the voice.  
  
"We are sorry," cried Gollum.  
  
"You will only be forgiven if you sacrifice it to me," announced the voice.  
  
"But we can't kill Precioussss," pleaded Gollum, "Please not my Precioussss!"  
  
"You must decide," said the voice, "Me or it, ME OR IT!"  
  
Gollum woke up with a start. What could he do? He picked the baby up, being careful not to wake her.  
  
He thought of what his birthday present had told him. If he killed Precious, the ring might come back to him. It may escape that cursed Baggins and return to the Misty Mountains for him. Perhaps it could tell him where it had been, so he could then hunt down his wicked nemesis and kill him during the night.  
  
But then he looked at Precious. Her sleeping face was so innocent, so trusting, so content. How could he disturb her peaceful sleep? Then again, he thought of what horrible punishment the ring would think of for Gollum if he betrayed it. It would kill Precious, but would torture her first. What could he do? What if the voices were just in his head? What if they weren't?  
  
"My Preciousss," whispered Gollum, a tear falling from his eye.  
  
He then thrust Precious into the water.  
  
Her eyes opened immediately, small bubbles of air floating to the surface. Precious held her little hands onto Gollum's fingers as they held her underwater. Streams of tears now rolled down Gollum's face as he closed his eyes, unable to look into the child's desperate gaze. He could feel the hands frantically tugging at Gollum, then they went still, and the grip loosened.  
  
"Preciousss?" said Gollum, his wide eyes darting open.  
  
Gollum had changed his mind: he wanted Precious to live. He could set her free, get her to leave the Misty Mountains, so she could be safe from his birthday present. Gollum now looked down at the lifeless infant with despair.  
  
"What have we done?" sobbed Gollum.  
  
"You don't deserve me," said the voice, "You are weak, YOU ARE PATHETIC!"  
  
Then the voice left him in silence, left him to think about what he had done.  
  
Gollum wept bitterly. He didn't stop to eat or sleep. He cradled the dead Precious in his arms for three days, rocking himself back and forth as he cried uncontrollably. When these three days had past, Gollum decided that he would still set Precious free, let her escape from the dark solitude of the cave. He carried her, wrapped in her package once again, to the opening of the Misty Mountains.  
  
It was night, so Gollum ran, cradling the body in his arms, until he came to a small river. He didn't want to leave Precious, even though she was dead. But he had to.  
  
"This is farewell, my Precioussss," sobbed Gollum, as he placed her into the river, and watched the currents carry her away.  
  
Gollum then returned to his little island in the lake, situated in the cave hidden deep in the Misty Mountains. The poor, lonely, wretched creature had to mourn once again, but this time, he was alone. 


End file.
